Chinese AI company Mobvoi hosted an event in London today, in part to raise awareness for digital wellbeing, but mainly to make two announcements. The TicPods Free true wireless earbuds that we first heard about in April are now on general sale, but the main attraction is the brand new TicWatch C2.

The timepiece is a spiritual successor to the original TicWatch (C2 stands for Classic 2), except this time it runs Wear OS by Google. It features a 1.3" AMOLED (360x360) display with a stainless steel case (rose gold, black, and platinum) and genuine leather strap (20mm or 18mm). The rose gold model is the thinnest Mobvoi has made at 12.80mm. It includes a heart rate monitor, GPS (+ GLONASS + Beidou), accelerometer, gyroscope, and NFC, plus it's also IP68 rated.

Two-day battery life is promised from the 400mAh cell, but if there's one negative to note it's that the device is powered by an aging Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 rather than the newer 3100 chip. It's still not a bad package for $199.99 (£179.99/€199.99), though, for what I think is a very attractive watch. You can pre-order it now ahead of a December 6th shipping date.

Today's other news is that the TicPods Free true wireless earbuds are now on sale. They cost $129.99 (£119.99/€135.79), and can be purchased from the Mobvoi site. For less money than you'll pay for other similar products, the TicPods offer four-hour battery life, in-ear detection, touch controls, and noise isolation/cancelation. They come in blue, red, and white. To find out what we think about them, check out our review.

You've been able to get your TicWatch C2 pre-order in for the past few weeks now, but today marks the smartwatch's formal retail debut, with full sales of the wearable opening.

Not only can can you buy the new TicWatch, but Mobvoi is knocking 10% off the purchase price for today only, letting you pick up the TicWatch C2 for just about $180. Orders placed now should arrive in roughly two weeks.

End of Update

Press Release

TicWatch C2 now available for pre-order while TicPods Free are now available for online sales

London, UK – October 24th, 2018 -Mobvoi Inc., a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company backed by Google™ and Volkswagen, announced TicWatch C2 (Classic 2) today at a launch event in London, with global pre-orders now live. In addition, the company officially launched their first true wireless earbuds, TicPods Free, which are now available to purchase online.

The #LookUp event was hosted in a bid to raise awareness of digital wellbeing and how connected devices like TicWatch smartwatches and TicPods Free earbuds can help to improve it. Designed to be used as primary devices in social situations, Mobvoi enables its users to look up and appreciate their surroundings, while still staying connected with their phone in their pockets.

TicWatch C2

As a successor to Mobvoi’s first smartwatch, the TicWatch C2 is a Wear OS by Google™ device that’s built with premium materials, packed with functions, and is available now for pre-sales on Mobvoi.com for £179.99 / €199.99 / US$199.99. TicWatch C2 will then launch widely on December 6th.

Mobvoi’s diverse lineup of smartwatches, including the recently released TicWatch Pro, show there is a TicWatch for every lifestyle. New features of the newly announced TicWatch C2 include:

Built with stainless steel watch fronts and genuine leather straps

Comes in three colors: rose gold, black, and platinum

The rose gold version is thinner (12.80mm), Mobvoi’s thinnest smartwatch yet, and is built for slimmer wrists

Comes equipped with features like NFC (Google Pay™), full health and fitness functions and voice assistant compatibility

Powered by Wear OS by Google, with thousands of smartwatch apps and watchfaces available through Google Play and new proactive help from the Google Assistant

TicPods Free

TicPods Free are true wireless earbuds that successfully raised over $2.8M through a crowdfunding campaign earlier this summer. Today, Mobvoi announced their much-anticipated retail launch on Mobvoi.com with an RRP of £119.99 / €135.79 / $129.99 - available now for online purchase.

Intuitive side touch panel – enables users to control their audio by touching the side of the earbuds through gestures, including:

○ Swiping up and down on the stem to adjust volume

○ Double tapping on the pods to answer or end a call; when not on calls, double-tapping will skip to the next song in your playlist

○ Long pressing for two seconds to reject calls; or, when not on calls, to activate your phone’s voice assistant

Automatic in-ear detection – allows TicPods Free to know when you’re listening so that audio automatically plays when both pods are inserted into your ears, while removing either will pause your audio

Call audio in both ears – hear and be heard more clearly since both earbuds will be broadcasting rather than just the right one

Noise cancelling technology – the mics in each earbud are engineered to deliver the best possible call quality through advanced digital ambient noise reduction so you’re heard clearly on calls

Noise isolating design – hear more clearly as the ergonomic design of the earbuds block out outside noise, so you can focus on what you want to hear; two sizes of silicone tips will come in the box so that various ear canal sizes are covered

Extended battery – A single charge lasts 4 hours, requiring just 40 minutes of charging before reaching full capacity, and when combined with its portable charging case, gives you up to 18 hours of battery life

Mobvoi is setting itself apart in the wearables space through award-winning design, and the innovative integration of artificial intelligence within its line of products. Their TicWatch line is the top-selling Wear OS by Google smartwatch line on Amazon.

TicWatch C2 Technical Specifications:

Model

TicWatch C2 20mm

TicWatch C2 18mm

Dimensions (mm)

42.83 x 42.83 x 13.10

42.83 x 42.83 x 12.80

Colors

Black, Platinum

Rose Gold

Watch Case

Stainless steel (front)

Stainless steel (front)

Watch Strap

Genuine leather (interchangeable), 20mm

Genuine leather (interchangeable), 18mm

Operating System

Wear OS by Google

Wear OS by Google

Compatibility

Android, iPhone

Android, iPhone

Platform

Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear™ 2100

Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear™ 2100

Display

1.3" AMOLED (360 x 360 px)

1.3" AMOLED (360 x 360 px)

Connectivity

Bluetooth v4.1, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth v4.1, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n

GPS

GPS + GLONASS + Beidou

GPS + GLONASS + Beidou

Sensors

Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Heart-rate sensor

Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Heart-rate sensor

NFC payments

Yes (Google Pay)

Yes (Google Pay)

Battery capacity

400mAh (2 days)

400mAh (2 days)

Waterproof rating

IP68

IP68

*Google, Android, Google Pay, Google Play, Wear OS by Google, and other marks are trademarks of Google LLC.. Wear OS by Google works with phones running Android 4.4+ (excluding Go edition) or iOS 9.3+. Supported features may vary between platforms and countries.